Gray Lightning
by Zapto369
Summary: Based loosely on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, these are the accounts of a powerful mutant and his story.
1. Chapter 1: Dreams of the Beginning

Chapter 1- Dreams of the Beginning

"We live in a world in which so few people are there for one another. We live in a world in which everyone only minds their own business and rejects all others. We live in a world where each person's opinion is the only one that matters. We live in a world of violence, rage, and hate. We live in a world divided. But here at Graycon Enterprises, we believe that we don't have to live in this kind of world. We believe that this world can be made beautiful, but we also believe that this has to be worked at. Will you help us in this endeavor? Please check out our website below or call the number on your screen for more information. Remember, we believe that black and white can make shades of gray. Graycon… let's purify the world… together."

How many times have I heard that commercial? It's not surprising that I'm hearing it now then. It is a tad bit ironic though. Don't I have to get up at some point anyways for that meeting…

"Zapto… Zapto, please help me!" A terrified female voice called out in the darkness. Zapto? Who's he? And what could he do to help? Does he have some kind of power, like those mutants I keep hearing about? I guess it doesn't matter, that woman needs help! "Zapto, where are you?" She called out again. I don't know either, but maybe I can help. That voice… what? A flash of yellow blasted across the world.

"Excellent job, my apprentice." An elderly man's voice also seemed to call out from the void. Apprentice? Maybe that Zapto guy is his apprentice? Or maybe I am, sometimes these things get weird… Again? Another flash of yellow ripped the world and then faded. "You can't save her, give in!" A malicious voice also called out. This is all very strange… Argh! This time the flash held more than color, it was full of some kind of electrical energy that seemed to pulse throughout the world. And it… hurts? I… I can't breathe… and then a scream crashed everywhere!

"Ah!" The young man awoke with a shout. "It was, just a dream." He assured himself as he sat up in his bed, again safe in his bedroom. Nightmares weren't uncommon for him, and some were worse than others. But there was something about this one that seemed… a little too real. He glanced over at the clock by his bedside. It read faithfully, and he was glad to find that it was still a few hours before his alarm would go off. "Good, I need all the rest I can get." He though to himself as he laid back down and returned to sleep until the big day ahead of him was to begin.

"Next! James, number 26!" The woman at the front desk called out to the room. The same young man, troubled by bad dreams just hours ago, now raised his head and smiled. He had been waiting for hours in this room, which was not unlike a doctor's waiting room, only perhaps bigger, and he was not here to see a doctor. He was responding to an ad placed by the growing-in-popularity Grayco Company. The ad claimed it was recruiting exceptional young men and women, mutant or not, for a type of initiative designed to help bring more peace to the world. It was vague, but it sounded right up his alley.

After all, the young man was pretty fit, even for someone in their early 20's. He had long dark-brown hair, well by men's standards anyways, and the same color eyes. He appeared slender, and usually wore clothes that played on that. Today, he wore black jeans, a smidgeon on the tight side, and a blue shirt with some kind of band logo on it. He completed the look with gray shoes and his famous gray jacket with angel wings on it. He seldom ever left the house without it. The jacket was a gift from his grandfather before he passed away, and he treated with the utmost respect. Today, he carried with him a backpack full of the items he would use today in his audition to the company. He was obviously nervous, but tried to hide it as he stepped up to the middle-aged woman who had just called his name.

"Yes, I'm James." He told her and he handed her the number he had taken earlier. "Now, does it really look like I care much? Why don't you head on back?" The woman, grumpy from a morning of sitting at this desk, snapped as she motioned to a door to her right. "Um, sure, good idea." James replied sheepishly as he took her advice and went towards the door. He opened it, revealing a semi-long hallway. "Um…" James began but was cut off. "Learn to read, will ya? First door on the left." She snapped again, not even looking at him. "Thanks." James replied, a little annoyed as he entered the hallway and let the door close behind him. Sure enough, the first door on the left had a sign on it that read "Examination Room: Hopefuls enter here." "Well, this must be where it all starts." James said aloud to himself as he took a breath in and knocked.

"Come in." A benevolent-sounding female voice called from the other side. He obeyed the voice and opened the door. The room wasn't very large, maybe a little bigger than a typical doctor's office room, and wasn't filled with much equipment either. There were a set of cabinets above a counter, with a scale next to it. There was also a sitting bench on the other side. Basic medical equipment was arranged both on the counters and on a rack in the room. Overall, it had the feel of a doctor's office room. The thing that struck James the most however, wasn't any of the items in the room, but the person standing in the middle of it. Though she wore a nurse's lab coat, she looked, not only official, but innately beautiful as well. She had long black hair and bright blue eyes, behind a pair of cute glasses, and the face of an angel. She was average height and held a clipboard in one hand, with a pen in the other.

"Um, hi, I'm uh, here for…" James began nervously. He was already nervous to begin with, but now, in the sight of a beautiful woman, he was borderline mortified. He knew he had to get his act together quick so as to not mess up this opportunity. "The Grayco Hero Initiative. I know it's in your record." The nurse woman finished and told him. "You seem nervous. There's no need to be, have a seat." She stated as she motioned to the bench in the room. He did as she wished and fiddled to straighten his jacket to make the most of his appearance. "My name is Amy Merila. I'll be assisting with your evaluation today and handling all of the medical aspects. We need to see if you physically have what it takes to join this initiative." She told him. "That's right, the application said that only the best would be chosen for the team." James replied with a statement.

"Right, and it seems like your application is indeed here, although it appears you got it in a little late." Amy stated with a bit of annoyance as she flipped through her clipboard. "Oh, yea, sorry. That's not going to hurt my evaluation is it?" James asked. "Probably not, but that's not my area to handle either." She replied as she grabbed the blood pressure meter off of the nearby rack. "I'm sure you've been through this before, treat it just like a normal doctor's check up." The kind-sounding nurse stated as she checked his blood pressure and other vitals. James simply smiled shyly as she did so, but she didn't really pay much mind. "You marked approximate height and weight here, but we'd like to double check anyways." She again stated as she motioned for James to step on the scale. "Oh yea, of course. So this hero team thing, what's it all about?" James asked as he complied. "You'll find out more about it later, but there's nothing to worry about." She replied as she recorded James's dimensions. "Um, ok. I've always wanted to be a hero, that's why I'm here. I've trained a while to do something cool, but now's my chance to prove it, to prove that I can be somebody." James told her. "We can all be somebody, whether we're heroes or not. It doesn't matter what we are, it's the future we work for that's important." Amy said to James as he sat down again. "Thanks, that's good advice, I like it." James told her with a smile.

She smiled back and flipped some more pages on her clipboard, making a few marks here and there. "Then again, now that I'm here, it feels like high school soccer all over again." James sighed comically. Amy smiled a little, but didn't look up from her board. "Do you have any history of illness, any genetic disorders you feel we should know about? Any medical conditions at all?" Amy asked, still not looking up. "I have bad dreams semi-often, but other than that, no, not really." James replied, a little worriedly. "That's fine. Grayco Enterprises is working with all kinds of people from all spectrums of the world, but I have to ask, are you a mutant? This won't reflect any way on your treatment here." Amy continued with a serious face. "No, I'm not." James replied. "That's fine. Now as a matter of form, we need to take a blood sample." She told him as she reached into a drawer of medical equipment and pulled out a syringe. "Go for it." James replied as she indeed stuck him with a needle, which he winced a bit upon impact. She bore no expression as she finished taking the sample and prepared it for its lab destination.

"Ok, we're finished here. Congratulations, James, you've passed the first portion of our examination. Please head to the next door on the left for your interview." Amy then stated, much to James' both relief and disappointment. "Great, thank you. Um, am I going to see you again?" James asked as he got up to leave. "That depends on how you perform in the upcoming tests. Just do the best you can." Amy stated with a smile. "Awesome, thanks, I will." James replied with a smile as he exited the room, letting the door shut behind him. "Human." The nurse snapped maliciously under her breath when she was alone in the room.


	2. Chapter 2: Clearing Targets

Chapter 2- Clearing Targets

"Ok, on to the next room I guess." James said aloud to himself as he wandered down the hall. It didn't take long before he reached a door that read, "Interview Room." "This is it then." James thought to himself as he knocked twice on the door. "Come on in!" A somewhat gruff voice called from the other side. He did as he was bade to and entered another simple room. By most accounts, the room looked almost like a police interrogation room. The walls and floor were black, but the room was decently lit. There was nothing in the room save for a medium-sized table and three matching chairs in the center, and of course, the people seated at the table. On the side farthest from where James stood, there were two chair occupied by the personal that would be conducting the interview.

The man on the left was an older gentleman, perhaps middle-aged, and he wore a black suit bearing the Grayco company logo on it, a gray sphere with lines cris-crossing across it. His short gray hair and hardy demeanor implied he might have served time in the military. The man on the right was much younger, perhaps late 20s, and wore an all-black kind of jumpsuit. He had short-to-medium brown hair, however his most notable feature was the dark red sunglasses he wore. Although he wore no Grayco logo, he did wear a nametag badge on his chest that had it, along with the name "Scott Summers."

"Welcome, kid. My name is Richard Smith, and my accomplice here is Scott Summers. But you can just call us Mr. Smith and Mr. Summers. Please, have a seat." The gruff-looking man said in a name befitting his appearance as he motioned to James to sit down at only empty chair at the table, across from where they were. "Thanks, uh, how's it going?" James asked timidly as he took his place at the table. "We're good, thank you. Now I understand you want to join our little team of heroes, hunh? Do you have any idea what that entails?" Mr. Smith asked in his rough and tough voice as he flipped through some papers in front of him. "Well to be honest, no, not really. But just the name hero sounds awesome to me." James replied with a bit of a smile.

"So you want to be a hero then?" Summers asked with a hint of a smile of his own. "Yes, sir, it's been a bit of a dream of mine for a while now." James stated again. "But do you have any idea what it means to be a hero? I mean, it sounds great, kid, it really does, but what does it mean? What do you have to do?" Smith asked incredulously. "Well, admittedly, no I'm not sure what it entails, not really. But I've trained for this, both my body and my spirit. I want to help people, I want to live for something greater, something to better someone else's life. I want to change the world, for the better." James replied with conviction. "That's great kid, but it's a fool's dream, always has been. Everyone wants to change the world, but how many do? As a team maybe, but just you, not a chance! Look, we've been interviewing people all day, you're the last I believe, we should just let this kid go." Smith sighed to himself and then turned to Summers. "No, let's finish up just like with all the others. It's only fair." Summers replied.

"I suppose you're right. Well listen then: Grayco's Hero Initiative isn't a joke, kid. It's about finding the best of the best to do exactly what we need to, like you said I guess, change the world together as a team. So you have to shine better than all the other candidates who've walked through here. Can you do that, kid?" Smith asked as he looked square at James. "Of course I can, I won't let you down. Just give me the chance to." James replied adamantly. "You seem honest in that, and I like that, but all I see is a naïve kid a little over his head. Could you make the tough calls? Follow orders to the tee? Leave behind friends for the sake of a mission? Turn your own back on love…" Smith went on, but James cut him off. "Now with all due respect sir, I don't believe that's what being a hero is all about. It's about sticking up for your friends and what you believe in. And love… that's all that matters and if it drives you, I don't think failure is an option." James cut in. "I like this guy more and more. You have heart, James, don't lose that. Smith, I say we give him a chance." Summers stated with an obvious smile. "Are you serious? Well it can't hurt I suppose. I only hope my superiors share the same enthusiasm. Kid, you've made it through here. Let's walk on over to the physical testing gym from here." Smith sighed as he got up from the table. The others followed suit and the three began to leave the room.

"Thanks, Mr. Summers, I won't let you all down." James whispered to him as they walked out the door. "I know. Just keep it together. And call me Scott." Scott whispered back. "Thanks, and cool shades." James remarked with a smile as they walked down the hallway to a large door at the very end. Scott simply smiled back as they stopped at the doorway. "Now if you two are done making small talk, it's time for the true test to begin." Smith stated with a smirk as he slid a card into a slot next to the door, clearing security. With a beep, the door opened, revealing a very large, open room. "Whoa…" James thought to himself as he looked around. There was next to nothing in the room, save for a few doors on the walls. It reminded him of a giant gymnasium, only without the basketball hoops. Actually, the emptiness in the room was a little unsettling.

"This is the physical test of abilities room. It may not look like much now, but just wait until your combat assessment begins." Smith chuckled a little. "Do you see those windows up there? We'll be watching when your assessment begins. There are some other officials too, but don't worry, there's not much pressure." Scott added as he pointed out the large panel of windows on a part of the wall in the upper areas of the room. "Ok, doesn't sound too bad. Will Amy be up there too?" James asked. "Um, probably, I'm not too sure." Scott answered with uncertainty. "Alright, that's quite enough chit-chat, let's begin. James, like Summers said, we'll be up in the luxury booth recording your assessment. You might want to take a moment to prepare yourself for this. You you're your combat equipment right? Good, just hang tight a moment, and good luck, kid." Smith told him as he and Scott exited the room through a door to the right.

"Alright, well I guess this is it then. Here's my chance to prove myself. I just hope I don't screw it up." James thought to himself as he took a deep breath and dropped his backpack onto the ground at his feet. He closed his eyes and took a moment to ready himself, although the moment must have taken longer than expected as he was alerted by a voice on a loudspeaker. "Hey kid, you asleep? You ready for your evaluation?" Smith's voice blared throughout the room. James nodded yes and bent down to open up his backpack. "Alright then, your funeral. What kind of weapons you got for us?" Smith asked with just a hint of sarcasm. "Tactical tonfas, sir. I've trained to use them to their fullest." James answered as he pulled out two identical small metal poles from his pack. They both had handles on them, which James grabbed onto to wield them.

"That's it? Alright, like I said, you're funeral kid. Preparing level 1 targets!" Smith called out as the floor began to vibrate. At once, the floor moved and holes emerged from which rose up red and white targets on metal poles. There were a good number of them, maybe 25 or 30 scattered throughout the large gymnasium. "You probably figured this out already kid, but the goal of the first part of this test is to break all of those targets you see there. We're going to time you, starting at the count of three. You ready? One… two… three!" Smith's voice echoed throughout the room. "Here we go then!" James exclaimed aloud as he dashed towards the target closest to him. He spun around as he drew close to it and slammed it hard with his pole-like tonfas, shattering the cheap board of wood. He then did a flip, landing him near a target to his left, and struck that one as well. "Well, this may be harder than I thought." James sighed to himself as he continued to break the targets with style.

Meanwhile…

"The kid's not bad I suppose. He's making good time." Smith said to his colleagues in the booth where he watched James destroy target after target. The interior of the booth was lined with fancy-looking computers and had some more near the center. Presumably, these were to control the facilities of the training room below. There were also a few other chairs, although everyone stood watching at this moment. Other than Smith and Scott who stood next to him, there was one other gentleman of note, other than the various technicians who ran the computers and training system. One wore an official looking suit and tie and had features similar to Smith, although he bore no relation. He had slick grayish-white hair and his name was Senator Graham of the United States of America. He was there to observe the auditions with the thought that the government might need to have a hand in this gathering, for so-called safety's sake.

"Yes, I would agree with you, but we'll see." Senator Graham added in a slightly mean tone. Not that he wasn't always in some kind of bad mood, but it was apparent he didn't really want to be there anyways. "He is human right? That's great, it's about time we find someone that sets a good example for our kind." Graham remarked snidely, showing off his prejudice against mutants. Scott opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment the doors to the room slid open and in walked the president of the Grayco Corporation, Mister Blake Gray himself. "Now, now, there's no need for any prejudices here." Blake remarked coldly to the politician. Blake was a slightly tall man, but what was most intimidating about him was his overall demeanor. He had the air of someone of great power and influence, which of course he did, and he almost seemed cold and distant, yet with a slight touch of warmness to him. He had slick black hair and wore a completely dark gray suit, with a matching white shirt and black tie, which bore the company logo.

"I invited you here Senator because I thought you'd be interested in this gathering of power. I consider that a privilege on your part, and if you keep up that attitude, I may have to take that away from you. Are we on the same page now?" Blake continued with a smile. "Yes, Mr. Gray." Graham sighed with resentment. "Excellent. Now, how is our final audition of the day going?" Blake asked the other gentlemen as he stared out the window, watching James smash targets. "Not bad, sir. The kid's doing pretty well. I don't see too much in him, but I think Scott feels otherwise." Smith told him. "Do you?" Blake asked, turning his attention to Scott. "With all due respect, I think Smith underestimates James's heart. He may not have any mutant powers or any other super abilities, but he's got what it takes to be a hero, or at least serve on your team." Scott replied. "Our team, it's a team for all, not just me. I'll clear up all confusion at the reception when everyone gathers, rest assured. At any rate, you may be right. I sense something in him, but keep seeing how he does." Blake informed them.

At that moment, the doors opened again and in walked Amy, holding the same clipboard from before. "Oh, Mr. Gray, I didn't realize you'd be here. It's no problem, I just have something to report." Amy stated as she walked up to the gentlemen. "Then it's a good thing I am here. Funny how fate works things out. What do you have to report then?" Blake asked her, with little more than a faint smile at the mention of fate. "The blood samples from the boy James have been sent down to the lab." Amy told him. "Yes, but that's fairly normal. Is there anything else?" Blake asked, with a touch of confusion on his face. "Yes, just as I was placing the sample in the hands of our lab scientists, we both reported seeing the blood turn… a slight yellowish color." Amy continued. "Hmm, that is odd. He claims to not be a mutant, correct?" Blake asked to confirm. "Yes, that's correct, sir. He isn't using any powers during this test either." Smith answered. "Hmm, then this is a puzzle." Blake stated, mostly to himself. "He could be lying, you know. Mutants do that sometimes." Graham interjected.

"What did I say about that attitude? Let's not assume anything yet. Amy, keep me posted on how the testing goes. The rest of you continue to monitor this audition. The only thing left to do is see how things play out. That's all there is to do really. Carry on." Blake told them all with an air of power as he strolled out of the room. "You know, Amy, James was asking about you watching his performance here. Are you going to stick around?" Scott asked the nurse. "I wasn't planning on it, but I might as well I suppose." Amy replied as she glanced out the window. "Sir, he's nearly completed with level 1." One of the female technicians announced to the booth.

On the ground floor…

"And that's the last one. Ya!" James shouted as he smashed the final target in the room. "Good job, kid. Maybe there is hope for you after all. But don't get cocky; we're just getting started. Activate level 2 targets!" Smith's voice called out from over the loudspeaker. "You mean there's more? Great, bring it on!" James shouted back encouragingly as the room began to shake again. The floor opened up again, raising more targets, but differently from last time, holes also appeared in the ceiling, lowering targets down into the room. These targets were unique in that they were being held afloat by propellers, levitating near the ceiling. "Try this, kid! One… two… three… go!" Smith exclaimed again as he began the timer. "Alright, this can't be too, too hard." James thought to himself as he charged the first target, a ground one. When he reached it, he did another spin and smashed it with style.

"There's no way I can reach those flying ones though. Unless… I have an idea!" James thought to himself as his face lit up with epiphany. He ran up towards the next nearest ground target and jumped up, landing on top of it. He then let go of one of his tonfa rods and attached it to the pants of his leg. Slamming his foot and leg down hard, he shattered the target below him and used the momentum of the clear to launch forward and break one of the flying targets above him, although barely reaching it. "Wow, that actually worked! Alright, I have to keep going." James thought to himself with a smile as he reattached the rod to his arm and kept breaking targets.

"Well that was pretty resourceful. You may be right, Scott, there may be something to this kid. But I'm not going to say that just yet." Smith noted to his accomplice from the booth. "I agree, he's got skill and finesse, that's for sure. Amy what do you think?" Scott asked the nurse. "He has potential I suppose." Was her simple answer. "You know, he asked if you would be watching this. Now I can tell him later that you did." Scott told her with a smile. "He did? Well ok then." She said rather apathetically as she continued to watch the rampant smashing of the targets.

"I'll bet Amy is watching me right now. I can't explain why though. At least, I hope she is." James thought to himself from the target field. "But then again, does it matter? I mean, yea she's beautiful, but even if I make this team, what are the odds? There's just something about her… I'll worry about that later though, I gotta focus!" James continued in his head as he spun and smashed the last ground target with the tonfa rod in his right hand. Then, in one fluid motion, he landed with one knee on the ground and hurled that same tonfa at the last flying target, nailing a bull's-eye and shattering it. "And that's all she wrote." James said aloud with a smile of both happiness and pride. "Excellent James, your time was actually one of the best." Scott's voice this time called out over the loudspeaker.

"Is that it? Does that mean I passed?" James shouted to the greater part of the room as he went to pick up the tonfa rod he had tossed. "I don't know, that should be it right?" Scott asked his comrade up in the booth. "Normally, I'd say yes. But since this is the last one of these, I really want to push this kid to his best. I'm going to send out the Sentential against him." Smith revealed with a minor smile. "Are you sure? Alright, if you think so." Scott replied. "Great. Hey kid, we're gonna put you through one final test." Smith called out over the loudspeaker as he nodded to one of the technicians, who inputted a command into her computer. "Sounds good, bring it!" James replied encouragingly as the ground vibrated again. This time, a larger hole opened up in the floor and a platform rose up from the basement. Instead of targets this time, a large, purple, humanoid robot emerged. "Maybe I spoke too soon." James whispered to himself. "Now don't panic, kid. This is a weakened version of the Sentential model robots. Try and defeat it. There's no time limit on this one, so we'll start right away." Smith told him.

"You ready? Then go!" Smith called out again as the machine's eyes lit up yellow and it whizzed to life. With a mechanical groan, it took a step forward and took a punch at James. Not expecting this move, James tried to move, dodging the brunt of the attack, but losing his balance a little and fell to the floor to the right of the Sentential. "This guy's tougher than it looks. Alright, time to give it my all!" James thought to himself with the gritted teeth of determination as he got to his feet again. The robot whizzed again and spun to the right, attempting to smash James again. This time he was prepared for it and jumped on the moving arm. Before it could react, James smashed his tonfa rod straight into the arm of the Sentential, but it didn't break all the way. "Apparently a lot tougher, that only made a dent." James observed as the other arm of the machine whirled around struck James, smacking him off the arm, and sending him back to the ground.

"You see? I told you, this kid may be good at clearing targets, but when it comes to real combat, he's second rate." Smith commented with an tone of sarcasm to those in the booth. "Typical human." Amy thought viciously to herself without saying a word. "I don't think he's out yet. Just watch." Scott added. Back on the ground floor, James was getting to his feet again. "Man, how am I going to defeat this thing?" He thought to himself as he rubbed the side of his head with his hand. "James, help!" A voice called out in James's head as a surge of pain rippled across his brain. "What was that? I couldn't sworn I just heard a voice just now. And that pain… It's from my dream last night!" James realized with shock.

"But I can't worry about that now, this machine's not backing down. Maybe I can defeat it here, and then figure out who needs my help." He added as he gritted his teeth again with determination. The Sentential was approaching, so time was short. It got right up to James and lifted its foot to smash him with a step. At that moment, James slid under it, and jumped up near its back. With a cry, James dug his tonfa rod into it's back and used that momentum and get right to the back of the robot's head. With another swipe of his rod, James nailed the machine in the back of the neck. "Sir, we're getting reports here of an electrical disturbance coursing through the Sentential. It appears to be originating from James's weapon." One of the female technicians announced in the booth. "That's impossible!" Scott exclaimed. Amy looked a tad impressed for a moment, but then returned to her usual stare. Back on the battlefield, sparks flew across the impact site and the machine let out a mechanical cry before crumpling to the ground. "That did the trick I guess." James thought to himself with a smile as he landed back on the ground triumphant. "You really outdid yourself there, kid! Electrical tonfas! You didn't tell us that part, way to keep a good surprise for the end!" Smith's voice called out excitedly from the loudspeaker. "Electrical? That can't be right, these are just ordinary metal rods. I wonder what he means." James thought to himself as he looked down at his weapons. "That's it! Test clear! We're coming on down." Smith called out one last time, ending the trial.


	3. Chapter 3: The Ties of Relationships

Chapter 3- The Ties of Relationships

"Good job, James. I think you really impressed us up there." Scott told him with a huge smile as he, Smith, and Amy walked towards James on the ground floor, not far from the fallen Sentential. "Thanks, I did my best. Amy? Were you watching too?" James began and then asked sheepishly. "I saw most of it. You did well." Amy replied without much emotion, yet a hint of a smile. "Uh, thanks." James responded with the faintest of blushes. "Well? No, kid, you did great! I admit, I didn't think you had it in you, but when you pulled that electrical surprise out at the end, I knew you were all business. Again, well done!" Smith acclaimed as he patted James on the back. "Wait a minute though, you said I used electrical tonfas?" James asked in confusion. "Of course, kid, there's no need to be modest now. Your weapons are charged with electricity. That's how you were able to decommission that Sentential. It's not cheating, don't worry. In fact, I thought it was interesting how you saved that as a surprise until it was needed. It was a good tactic." Smith stated with a continued grin.

"But that's just the problem. There's no electricity here at all. I'm just as surprised as you are to find out about that. These are just normal, metal tonfas. Maybe your machine malfunctioned when I hit it or something." James revealed. "Are you serious? Well, we'll look into it I suppose, but I think you're just messing with us." Smith scoffed as he folded his arms. "At any rate, that was a good audition up there, James. Smith, isn't there something else you want to add?" Scott asked his comrade. "Ah, yes. Malfunctions, surprises, or whatever, the point of the matter is that you made the team. Congratulations and welcome to Grayco!" Smith regained his smile and shook James's hand. "Awesome, it's an honor! So, um, what happens now?" James asked with joy as he shook Smith's hand.

"Well to start, we'll show you to your room here, in our facility. It's convenient that this is our main headquarters building, because we won't have to move you anywhere else. There are a number of other places around the country that other exceptional people like yourself will be staying, but you'll be right here." Smith told the boy. "You mean I'm going to be living here at Grayco?" James asked to clarify. "That's exactly right, kid! We'll have a room ready for you and everything. Primarily you'll be wearing your official uniform from here on out, but if there's any personal items you want from home, we can send people over to pick them up." Smith continued. "Ok, that sounds pretty cool. You want to write this down?" James responded. At that moment, there was a chime in the room, coming from Amy's cell phone.

"My apologizes." She coldly stated as she walked a few feet away. "Yes, what is it?" Amy asked into the phone as she answered it. "What?! What do you mean abnormal?" She exclaimed in suppressed shock into the device. "Yes… I see. I will inform Mr. Gray immediately. Goodbye." Amy finished as she clicked the device and dialed a different number. "Mr. Gray, sir? Yes, I just received a report from the medical lab… Yes, it's about the blood sample. It's more than yellowish, it's an odd color and the results are abnormal for his demographics… Sir? No, he doesn't know…Scott? Ok, I'll send him to check it out… You're welcome, sir. I'll keep you informed should I hear any news… Thank you, sir." Amy conversed with her boss over her phone. She breathed a quick sigh and then returned to the others.

"Excellent then; we'll send our guys over to pick it up this evening." Smith finished his moving conversation with James. "Is everything alright?" Scott asked Amy as she returned to the group. "Yes, there's a situation in the medical lab and Mr. Gray would like you to check it out." Amy replied with a whisper. "Me? Ok, I'm on my way now then." Scott whispered back. "Well I suppose the next thing to do now is show you to your quarters. Scott, would you do that for us?" Smith asked his coworker. "Normally, I'd love to, but it looks like I'm needed elsewhere. Amy would you mind filling in for me?" Scott asked her, putting a faint smile on James's face. "Sure. James, follow me please." Amy motioned to the young man. "Excellent, fill him in on the way as to what's coming up. I'm out too, time to give a full report to the boss." Smith stated as well as the group went their separate ways.

"Is everything ok, Amy? I mean the phone call and all, it sounded important." James asked with concern as the female led him through a doorway and into a somewhat lengthy hallway. "Yes, it's all ok, just a minor technical issue. It's nothing to worry about, but thanks for your concern." Amy replied with a smile. "Ok, well if there's anything I can do to help, just let me know. I guess we're comrades in the workplace now." James told her with a bit of a nervous chuckle as they approached a pair of elevators. "Now, I should inform you of the upcoming chain of events." Amy began as she pushed the up-arrow button in between the elevators. "After I show you to your room, you have a little bit of free time while all of the other recruits get settled. That will give you some time to rest, organize your thoughts and belongings, change, and perhaps get to know your roommate a little." Amy continued as they stood in waiting. "I get a roommate?" James asked, a little taken aback as the elevator binged and opened. No one stepped out as James and Amy walked in. "Yes, he may be there already, or he may show up later. I'm not sure of the details on that, but we hope to foster teamwork through this system." Amy revealed as she hit a button, floor 15, and the doors shut as the elevator hummed into action.

"Tonight at 8:00 PM there will be an assembly meeting in the main hall. If you're unsure of where that is, there is a map of our facility as well as upcoming event information that you'll need in your room." Amy continued, quite formally. "Ok, sounds great." James replied with a slightly shy smile. "Excellent, do you have any questions?" Amy asked as the elevator slowly ascended up the building. "Um, yea. Can I get your honest opinion on something?" James asked, a bit shy-like. "Sure." Amy replied without much emotion. "What did you think of my audition? You saw the whole thing, right?" James asked her. "Yes, I thought you performed and fought very well." Amy replied with a hint of a smile. "Really? Awesome, thanks! That means a lot to me." James answered, with a slight blush.

At that moment, the elevator came to a stop and chimed again. "Looks like we're here then." James stated obviously as the doors opened. To either side of where the elevators were, were twin hallways respectively and each had many doors on either side. "Yes, you will be in room 1519. I believe that's the last room on the right. Can you find your way there?" Amy asked the young man as she handed him a key on a ring. "Yea, I think so. Thank you, I'll guess I'll see you sometime soon, then?" James asked hopefully as he stepped halfway out of the elevator. "Yes, I will be involved with the project, so we'll meet again. At the very least, I'll be there tonight for the opening assembly." Amy replied with another faint smile. "Awesome! Ok, see you later then!" James stated with a huge grin as he began down the hallway. The elevator closed behind him and he breathed out a huge sigh. "What am I thinking? She works here, I don't have a chance! Not that I'm interested anyways, I'm just saying!" James thought silently to himself as he walked past many rooms with numbers on them. "At any rate, I have other things to worry about, so here we go." James thought again as he reached the final room on the right, his room. A little slowly, he inserted the key and opened the door, sticking his head in first to see if anyone was there before entering. There was.

"Hello there! Welcome, I guess you're my roommate!" A cheery voice called in an Irish accent. The voice came from a young man who sat on a bed to the right side of the room. He had red hair and brown eyes and wore a dark gray jumpsuit that bore the Grayco company logo; presumably this was the uniform James himself would soon be wearing. "The name's Sean O'Brien! Pleased to meetcha!" The young man, about the same age as James stated as he pushed himself up from his reclined position and stood up to shake James's hand at the door. "Thanks, you too! I'm James." He also stated as he fully entered the room and shook Sean's hand. As he looked around his new living quarters, James noticed it was a fairly good size for two people to live in. There were two beds, one of the left side and one on the right, with a large window in between them, under which was a square dresser with two drawers. Near the dresser and also on top of it were a variety of plants, some healthy looking, and some a little wilted. Before the bedrooms, looking in from the doorway, there was an open door to the right, which led in to a bathroom, and a mirror-doored closet on the left. Overall, it had the feel of a college dorm room, but Sean seemed content with it, so James could be too.

"To be honest, I was kind of wondering when you would show up. Oh, it's not personal; don't get me wrong, but I've been here a few days already." Sean explained as he sat back down on the bed. "Really? I thought all the auditions and stuff were today though." James replied as he continued to glance around the room. He noticed too that there were a few posters above his new roommate's bed, all of which had some kind of "save-the-earth" message. "Today was just the last day. They've been going on for a little while already though. But all's well I guess." Sean replied as he lounged out. "To be honest, I'm not even too sure I know what this whole hero thing is all about." James commented as he sat down on his own bed. "You're not alone there! The whole thing is kind of mysterious, yet exciting in a way. There's that flyer there if you want to take a gander, but there's nothing we don't really already know. I guess most of the finer points of it all they'll tell us at tonight's shindig." Sean pointed out as he motioned to the dresser between their two beds. Sure enough, there were two pamphlets on them, one for each of them. "Yea, good point." James said, half paying attention as he leafed through the little booklet. As Sean as pointed out, there was some information about Grayco and how they develop new weapons and medical technology, but not much about the Hero Initiative, save what they already knew: that they were assembling both humans and mutants of extraordinary potential for some kind of team.

"Yep, not much in here. I guess we'll just have to take it as it comes." James affirmed as he put the pamphlet back on its table. "My thoughts exactly. So, if you don't mind my asking, what are your powers? I mean are you a mutant or do you have some kind of other skill?" Sean asked with the raise of a finger. "No, I'm not a mutant, I've just trained a lot physically and I seem to have a natural fighting instinct. I use these metal tonfas, these metal poles, to fight. That's how I cleared the audition." James replied as he raised his weapons from his pack a little for Sean to see. "Very cool! As for me, I happen to have a mutant power of my own." Sean stated with a huge grin and a slight elevation of his head. "Nice, what is it?" James asked curiously. "Well, take a look." Sean suggested as he raised his hand over the slightly-wilted plant next to him on the bed stand. His fingers glowed a dim green for a moment and at once the plant began to rise to its fullest. Not only did it now stand as tall as it could, but a flower also budded and then bloomed on the top. "Not bad, hunh?" Sean asked boastfully as he lifted his hand away from the plant and the glowing stopped. "Nice, you can make plants grow?" James asked with a hint of sarcasm. "Well yes, but there's more too. Check this out!" Sean replied a little indignantly. He raised his arm once again and his fingers glowed a slightly brighter green. This time, the plant that had previously just rapidly grown grew longer vines near its leaves. Sean twirled his hand in the air and the vines, now a good length wriggled in the air. With a large smile, Sean flicked his fingers to the right and one of the vines shot quickly against the wall, knocking a small piece of plaster off.

"Oops! Well that's that though." Sean remarked with a chuckle as he put his hand down and the plant returned to its normal, flowered form. "Not bad, hunh?" Sean asked with pride as he folded his arms boastfully. "That was pretty awesome, I got to admit!" James agreed with a laugh. "My point proven then! I hear there's this secret and awesome team of mutants called the X-Men. Have you heard of them?" Sean asked. "No, I haven't. What are they all about?" James also asked inquisitively. "Heck if I know! But supposedly they stand for truth and justice and all that good stuff. Like I said, if they do exist, they're a pretty big secret. Anyways, supposedly, each of them have a cool name, like a real superhero. I've been working on mine ever since I heard that and I think I've come up with one. Call me… Overgrow!" Sean exclaimed dramatically as he stood up and raised his arms. They glowed green for a moment and one of the other plants in the room hit against the wall. "Looks like you still need a little practice, but not bad." James commented with a light-hearted laugh.

"Touché! You know, I think we're going to be great friends and all that…" Sean began, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. Sean and James both looked at each other, a bit confused, but then shrugged and Sean walked towards the door. "Hello?" Sean asked politely as he opened the door. When he did, they both saw an attractive young woman, about the same age as themselves, standing there. She had long brown hair and eyes and was wearing a one-piece green jumpsuit. She also had on a belt, which contained a variety of different guns and firearms. "Well, uh, hello. Um, can I help you?" Sean asked shyly to the young woman. "Well, maybe, because I think this is my room." The young woman replied in a sweet voice. "I don't think so, there are only two people to a room and we're both here already. Maybe you have the wrong room number?" Sean replied, trying to help. "I don't think so, this is room 1509 right?" The young woman asked hopefully. "Nope, this is room 1519, close though." Sean replied with a chuckle. "Oh, wow, I totally got the wrong room! I'm sorry, I'm told I can be a little ditsy sometimes." She exclaimed in slight embarrassment. "It's all good, not a problem at all. Oh, by the way, how rude of me not to introduce myself. I'm Sean, and this is my roommate James." Sean told her, a tad flustered as he motioned to himself and his friend, who waved from inside the room.

"It's great to meet you then! I'm Nicole Oakley, but everyone around here refers to me by the code name I got from my expertise with firearms: Oneshot!" The young woman introduced herself as well, with girlish pride. "Wow, that's pretty awesome!" Sean replied with crush-like admiration. "Thanks, hehe, although to be honest, no one really calls me that. I just thought it sounded cool." Nicole admitted with a nervous laugh. "Really? So I'm not the only one who does that? That's good to know!" Sean stated with a hearty laugh. "Awesome, well I'll let you two get back to whatever it is you were doing. I have to go find my own room anyways. It was great meeting you and I hope we get to see each other again soon!" Nicole told him happily as she turned to walk away. "Thanks, you too!" Sean called out as well as Nicole headed down the hallway, away from them. Sean closed the door, and turned around to face James again.

"Did you see that, man?" Sean asked his roommate with a dumbfounded grin. "Yea, that girl was lost. It happens, it's no big deal." James replied matter-of-factly. "No, I mean did you see her? She's gorgeous, man! Seriously, and I think there might be something there, you know?" Sean exclaimed with a wave of his arms. "That she was. You just met her though. I wonder if she's in this hero thing too." James thought out loud. "Oh I'll bet she is! Why else would she be roaming this hall too? And I know I just met her, but I'm telling you, there's something there. Haven't you ever just seen someone once or twice and just felt a little, I don't know, click or something?" Sean asked, slightly defensive. "Yea, more recently than you know." James said, a little too quietly in reply. "Oh? Wait, like how recently?" Sean pried as he squinted at James. "Never mind, it doesn't make much sense!" James stated, a little too loudly.

"Ah, come on, man! We're roommates now, comrades in arms! You can trust me with these kinds of secrets! Besides, if it's someone you met here at Grayco, you'll need me as a wingman." Sean made his case. "Fair enough, yea it's someone from Grayco, works for them even." James replied, a little too quietly. "Works here? Well you can't mean that mean old lady at the front desk. And I don't think you're gay, so it can't be Scott or Smith. You're not, right?" Sean questioned. "No!" James shouted back. "Hey, man, relax! I wouldn't judge you if you were! Let's see then, it has to be… Oh come on man, just tell me!" Sean demanded. "Alright, fine. Did you meet the nurse lady named Amy on your way in?" James asked sheepishly. "Hmm, Amy… yea I did! She was the one that took vitals and stuff. Yea, not a bad looker either, although she might be a little older than us, it's hard to tell." Sean replied. "Maybe by a year or two, that's not bad! Anyways, yea, it's her. There's just something about her, I don't know, it's probably crazy though." James admitted.

"Man, what did I just say? I understand perfectly! It's usually a good idea to trust those feelings." Sean replied kindly. "Thanks, that's not bad advice." James responded as he looked at the ground. "Anytime, roomie! I'll tell you what, let's make a deal: You be my wingman for Nicole and I'll be yours for helping with Amy. What do you say?" Sean asked as he stood up and stretched out his hand. "You've got a deal, man!" James replied with a smile as he also stood up and shook his new friend's hand. "Man, this is so cool! I thought I was going to be alone here, but a new roommate, a new friend, and a potential love interest… this is going to be great!" Sean exclaimed happily. "Yea, I'm with you there." James stated also. The two sat and chatted for a while about their own lives and themselves to pass the time for a while until the night approached.


	4. Chapter 4: The Gauntlet is Thrown

Chapter 4- The Gauntlet is Thrown

"Well man, I think it's about time we head down to that big meeting thing we've all got tonight." Sean sighed as he and James finished getting ready in their room. "Yea, you're right." James replied. Both of them were wearing their gray jumpsuit uniforms, courtesy of the company that hosted all of these events. "Do you have the map?" James asked his roommate. "Yep, right here. I think we're all set." Sean responded as he held up the map. As they were instructed in the pamphlet to always carry with them the items they required to fight, James brought with him his two tonfas, harmlessly strapped to his arms until he needed them. Sean on the other hand seemed to not have anything with him, as his mutant ability was his strength although, as he informed James of earlier, he secretly stashed a good number of seeds for various plants in his pockets. "It's tough to carry full plants with me, but if I throw down these seeds, I can instantly make big and dangerous plants grow to battle with me. Pretty cool, hunh?" He had earlier explained.

"Ok, then let's go!" James finalized as they opened their door and left. Sean went out first and began walking down the hall. James paused for a moment and then turned to lock the door behind them. "There we go." He said softly to himself as he began to turn around. As he did however, he sharply realized there was a problem, especially after he bumped into another person in the hall. "What the heck is wrong with you?! Watch where you're going, loser!" The other person who James bumped into shouted. "Oh sorry, I didn't realize you were there." James told the young man apologetically. The other young man had medium-length dark hair, about a quarter of which was sticking up on the left side. He too wore the Graycon uniform, but it seemed to be a little darker than his or Sean's, but that may have just been a trick of the light in the hallway.

"Well you know, sometimes sorry doesn't cut it. But I'll let it slide this time. Consider yourself lucky now… because it won't happen again." The young man told him in a snide, condescending voice. "Um, ok thanks." James replied, mostly unsure of the situation and began to walk away as the other young man just stood there. He hadn't gotten about two feet however, when he felt something hit the back of his leg, and suddenly found himself tripping, falling towards the ground. "What…?!" James exclaimed for a brief second until he impacted on the floor. "You know, on second thought, it seems your luck already ran out." The mean young man laughed, one hand raised, with his pointer finger smoking a little. "What's going on back here?" Sean shouted back and he realized the scene playing out behind him and turned around to meet James and the other guy.

"What's going on? Well, like I said, it seems like your friend here ran out of luck… oh do I always have to repeat myself?! Listen, the name's Chad Black, and if you know what's good for you, you'll stay out of my way." The young man snapped as he raised his hand again. Flicking his wrist, a small black diamond of energy was flung from it and hit the floor right in front of where Sean was walking. When this happened, a small bit of the carpet came up, and Sean tripped over the new obstacle. "How did… is that your power then?" James asked as he got himself up from the ground and Sean stumbled, but regained his balance again. "Yea, that's right. I'm only the strongest mutant around here and everyone who's anyone calls me Black Die. That's because I have the power to cause bad luck to happen to whoever comes my way, or crosses my path. Now, like I said, out of my way, losers!" Chad explained and retorted as he pushed his way past the two heroes and continued quickly down the hall.

"Hey, man, are you alright?" Sean asked his friend. "Yea, I was just taken by surprise, that's all. I guess not everyone who's here is so nice." James noted as he brushed himself off. "Eh, there's always one bad apple in the bunch, don't take it to heart." Sean told his roommate. "Fair enough, yea it happens I guess. Let's just keep going." James replied as the two began again down the hallway. They got to the elevator and hit the button, standing by for a moment for it to arrive. "Hey, guys! How's it going?" The voice of Nicole Oakley called out as she ran down the hallway, waving to meet the two boys near the elevator. "H-hey, Nicole! Pretty good, how's it going with you?" Sean responded in a slightly embarrassed way. "Looks like I'm not the only one taken by surprise." James whispered to his friend, as Sean lightly jabbed him with his elbow. "I'm great! I finally got all my stuff in order and ready to start my training!" Nicole replied with a big smile. "Training? You mean we're going to have to do training?" Sean asked, still a little surprised. "Yea, like you don't need it." James whispered again with a grin, only to be met with another light jab. "Of course, silly! It was included in this pamphlet my roommate gave me. You guys didn't read yours?" Nicole responded with a giggle. "Uh, we must have gotten a different pamphlet. Or maybe didn't read ours through, we just kind of skimmed it." Sean told her with a light chuckle of his own.

"How is your roommate by the way? She's not here now?" James interjected with a question. "Well, yea, she's kind of weird. I mean, nothing against her of course, she just doesn't talk much and told me she'd come down in a little bit. I think her name was… that's right, it's Eileen! Eileen White!" Nicole told them after a brief moment of thought. "Well, that's alright, I'm sure you two will be best of friends in no time!" Sean replied with an optimistic smile. "Yea, in the meantime, we should probably go before we're late." He then added as the elevator door pinged and opened. All three of them entered the elevator and worked their way downstairs. According to the map, it was only a short walk down a few hallways to almost the largest room in the facility, second only to the gym.

"Well I guess this is the place." James stated as the trio stood in front of two, double doors. As Sean pushed the doors open and they went inside, they noticed the room was indeed quite large. It was set up to accommodate the large crowd that now filled it. There were many rows of chairs filling the space, with almost as many people, all no doubt exceptional young adults like themselves. At the front of the room was a portable stage, with a podium and microphone and twin speaker stands on either side. Lining the walls were more, smaller speakers, as well as a few banners showing the Graycon company logo, the infamous lined sphere. "You think there have assigned seats?" Nicole asked the two boys as the doors shut behind them. "I don't think so, but I see a few seats near the middle. You want to sit there?" James asked his companions. "Sounds good to me." Sean answered as all of them worked their way to seats in the middle. "So what do you think they're going to talk about at this meeting thing?" Sean asked James and Nicole. "I'm not totally sure, but the pamphlet said that it was to tell us more about the Hero Initiative and stuff." Nicole replied. "That's good, maybe we'll finally know what this is really all about." James commented.

"Hey, man, I think I see your Amy over there." Sean whispered slyly to his roommate with a nudge to the arm. Sure enough, near the front stage was Amy, standing next to Scott and Smith. "She's not 'my Amy!" James replied defensively, as he playfully nudged him back. "Hey, guys, I wonder who those people are. They look a little intimidating." Nicole pointed out as she literally pointed to the other side of the stage, where an important-looking man in a suit stood next to two secret-service looking men. "Yea, you're right, I don't like the looks of them for some reason. Maybe it's some kind of politician or something." James suggested. "Oh and look, there's our new buddy Chad." Sean then added flatly as he noted the mean-spirited young man a row above them and farther to the left. "Who's Chad?" Nicole asked the boys. They explained their encounter with the bully and chatted about a few other things amid the chatter of everyone else in the room while waiting for the real show to start.

"It's practically time now. I hope we start soon." James said to no one in particular. As if on cue, the speakers clicked to life and a female voice began to talk on it. "May I have everyone's attention, please? Please everyone take your seats; we are about to begin tonight's events." The voice called politely to everyone in the room. The chatter in the room ceased at once and all eyes turned to the front stage. Standing at the podium, was an unidentified woman with short hair and a business suit. "Thank you. I would like to congratulate you all on qualifying for our company's newest and greatest project. Welcome all to the Graycon Corporation." The woman calmly told all of the gathered, which resulted in a round of applause. "To further tonight's assembly, I invite Mr. Richard Smith to speak." The woman continued as she walked down from the stage. Amidst more applause, the older gentleman stepped up to the podium.

"Good evening everyone! Well to echo what was just said, congratulations to all of you for making it to the team. If you're sitting here in this room, it means you're at least halfway decent." Smith began his speech. "But don't celebrate just yet! Yea, you may have made it this far, but nothing's set in stone. If you're not performing up to snuff, we can let you go at any time. Not only that, but the road ahead of you won't be easy. As cliché as that sounds, you all still need to earn your places on this team. What do I mean by that?" Smith continued as he paused for a dramatic moment. "I mean training, boys and girls! Over the next few weeks you will all undergo rigorous, and soul-building, training exercises. Think of it as a type of boot camp. After a few weeks of training, we will test you again, using a more difficult one than the entry one. Then, we'll see how to stack up and if you truly have what it takes to be members of this team. Are there any questions?" Smith shouted and then asked. A good number of hands shot up right away, but the female worker who just stepped down walked up to Smith and whispered something into his ear.

"Well, sorry about that, kids. I've just been informed all questions will take place at the end of this little party. So just to sum things up, you may have made it this far, but we'll see how you fare in a few weeks after our Graycon boot camp! Well I guess that's all I have to say." Smith finalized as he stepped down from the podium amidst a round of applause. "Thank you, Mr. Smith. Our next speaker will be Mr. Scott Summers." The woman who served as MC told the masses as another round of applause ensued and the sunglass-clad young man stepped up to the microphone. "Hello everyone! Before anyone asks, yes, these shades are awesome, and necessary." Scott began his speech with a smile as the room let out a chuckle.

"Now I know there's been some confusion about exactly what this Hero Initiative is all about. Unfortunately, I'm not the man to clear that up. I am however, a… specialist of sorts and I'll be assisting with the training routines. As my associate and friend Smith told you all, there will be a few week period of preparation and growth for all of you. During that time, you will undergo intense physical activity, but you will also grow in mind and spirit. It's not going to be easy, but none of you will have to go at it alone. Each of you has been assigned a mentor to help guide you through this experience. Although each mentor has multiple protégés, they are here to help guide you and one another through this. One of the main themes of this Initiative, and Graycon in general I'm told, is personal growth and teamwork. Therefore, there are different groups of you assigned to each other and you are to help each other, at the guidance of your mentor. You will find out which groups you've been assigned to, and who your mentor is, when you return to your room." Scott told them all, leading to much whispering among the crowd. "Now settle down, there's no reason for nervousness or anything. You all are amazing people and will make great heroes. Thank you, and see some of you later." Scott finished as he stepped down. Another round of applause occurred, and the MC woman walked up once again.

"Thank you, Mr. Summers. As you've heard, most of the technicalities of the upcoming events, that is, the training regiment, has been revealed. Before we dismiss tonight's assembly, we at Graycon would like to thank you once again for joining us. Without any further ado, I would like to introduce the man behind this company, a man of great wisdom, knowledge, vision, and taste. Please welcome warmly, Mr. Blake Gray!" The woman semi-exclaimed as the room burst into applause once again. As this introduction, the man himself, dressed in black, walked up on stage with a wave. "Thank you, Pamela, you've been great tonight." Blake Gray nodded. "At the risk of sounding repetitive, congratulations and welcome to Graycon, we're so glad to have you here!" Blake told them all in his somewhat serious, yet mysteriously emotional voice. "I would like to personally address you all tonight because, as Scott has said before me, we are all a team, and even I, its leader, cannot accomplish much on my own. I founded the Graycon Enterprises Corporation with the hopes of building a better world, no, to improve, to evolve this world and make it the world of peace and hope that I know it can be." Blake began his speech in earnest.

"As you may know, Graycon produces, develops, and distributes medical, communicative, and law enforcement technology, items, and personnel. This is one way that we help change the world: by giving life to those in distress, justice to those wronged, and bonds of connection to the lonely. This however, is not enough for me. I won't stop until this world is the beautiful planet I know it can be, and that's when I got the idea for the Hero Initiative. What if I could bring together people, all people, of different backgrounds and abilities, exceptional people such as yourselves, and together we could do more than any individual could? That is what this is all about: to build a team of, I guess you could say superheroes haha, and be there for the citizens of the world, for all mankind in ways are scarce imaginable now. That, my new friends, is my dream. No, it was a dream, but now it is coming true. And you, at least for now, are all a part of it! The gauntlet is thrown, and with the power of unity, we will bring this dream to full fruition and bring life, new life, to a world bound in chaos!" Blake exclaimed as he finished his speech and all left sitting in the room rose to their feet to deliver a standing ovation. "Thank you, my new friends. We are dismissed for tonight, but I hope to see you all again soon. Farewell for now, and the best of all good luck, for tomorrow, the journey to a new world of dreams begins!" Blake concluded the assembly with a huge smile and more applause.


End file.
